SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - According to local lore,
two elusive, mythical legends stalk the Puerto Rican
countryside. One is the Chupacabra, a tropical cousin of
Bigfoot, who attacks small animals in the dead of night.

The other actually exists.

This was confirmed Saturday at 11:22 a.m. Atlantic Standard
Time when Juan Gonzalez leisurely strolled up to a kiosk-sized
cellular phone star at The Plaza de las Americas, the largest
mall in the Caribbean, and started signing autographs.

It was the first time he had been sighted in public since
he agreed to terms on a two-year, $24 million contract that
returns him to the heart of the Rangers lineup after a
two-year absence. Gonzalez's low profile ? he had even
declined to join a teleconference after the agreement was
reached ? led some members of the Puerto Rican media to
speculate that the man called Igor was not happy with his
circumstances. How could a two-time MVP still in the prime of
his career rate nothing more than two years or $24 million?

Rest assured, Gonzalez is not unhappy. On Saturday, his
warmth was genuine and his smile huge when talking about
returning to the organization that gave him his start in
baseball.

"It's very important for me to come back to my home," he
said after an hour-long autograph session, in which the crowd
regularly grew despite the lack of advertisement or promotion.
"I've still got family in Arlington [his son, some nephews and
a sister], the Rangers have great fans, and I think we've got
a great team. It makes me feel comfortable and that makes me
happy.

"Money is not the only thing that makes people happy. I've
got my life, my health, my family. And, hey, I can go out into
the mall right now and not that many people will be making $12
million. It's a lot of money."

Gonzalez doesn't actually have the money yet, but is
expected to sign the contract after taking a physical on
Tuesday in Arlington. The physical was delayed for more than a
week by a middle-ear infection that prevented him from flying.
The only concern is his back, which has been cranky throughout
his career. But, Gonzalez said, the back has not been a
problem since 2000.

After the physical, it should be a clear path for a
Gonzalez-Rangers reunion, which seemed extremely unlikely in
the aftermath of his November, 1999 trade to Detroit. In the
year that followed, a frustrated Gonzalez attacked the
Rangers' organization on several occasions.

By the middle of 2000, he was telling old teammates he
wanted to return. That almost happened last December, but
then-general manager Doug Melvin thought the Rangers' money
would be better spent elsewhere. Gonzalez went to Cleveland
and had a tremendous season, but still didn't get offered
anything more than $36 million for three years from the New
York Mets.

Rather than switch to the National League for the first
time in his career, Gonzalez chose the Rangers. He said he
hopes it's the first step in finishing out his career with the
Rangers.

"I realized how much I missed Texas from the day they
traded me," Gonzalez said with a laugh on Saturday. "But that
was not my decision. That was a different time with different
people in charge. In my opinion and in the opinion of many
people, they made a mistake when they traded me."

"When I go back out to right field at The Ballpark, that's
going to be an exciting moment for me. One of the most
exciting moments of my career."